Little Tyke!

Tuesday's Tune: Little Something

I came across this song, "Little Something," by an EDM group, Above & Beyond, which features Justine Suissa.  Now, there could be multiple meanings attached to this song.  I think the writer of the song, one of the members of Above & Beyond, wrote the song to describe fame as being the "little something."  Some people may ascribe the song's reference of "little something" to a special person that made an impact in their lives.  Everyone has their own interpretation of this song.

When I first heard this song, I thought of my son.  He is my Little Something.  This sweet child of mine that really feels as if he came from nothing, and he really means everything to me.  I was so afraid of the changes I thought he would bring to my life, but to only find out that these changes weren't so bad and how much I needed the changes.

Now, I often feel guilty for not being around him enough and wonder how many moments I've missed out on because I leave him in the care of family members while working.  To be quite honest, I don't think I'm cut out to be a stay-at-home mom.  I just don't have the temperament.  At the same time, I know I'm missing out on many of his first moments.  I do admit that I love picking him up from daycare and seeing his happy smile (it's the highlight of my day).  He's the sweetest little boy and I can't ask for much more, my Little Something.

What or who is your "little something?"

Spring is Here to Stay

First tulip in bloom.

When I think about the weather here in Minnesota, anything is possible.  We've had a mild winter and spring-like conditions since March.  I've been apprehensive about Old Man Winter surprising us with one last winter storm (seriously, it is possible), but I've made up my mind that it's time to just believe that spring is here to stay.  It's been rainy, windy, and there's no snow on the green green grass.  The skies are a beautiful blue and the temps have risen imto the high '60s and low '70's.  Neighbors are cutting their grass and the first tulip have bloomed.  Spring is here!

Furthermore, my Little One is ready to explore the world outside of the home and be outdoors without a winter coat.  (He's going to be an outdoorsy baby!)  I'm ready to rest a little bit and let him run around in the yard.  I'm so happy that spring is here.

How's the weather in your neck of the woods?

Happy Birthday!

Tuesday's Tune: Somebody Else

I came across this song while listening to some "alternative" radio station.  Each time I scanned passed the radio station, this song was playing, so after the second or third time, I decided to just listen to the song.  It's quite an interesting song.

The song talks about the aftermath of a breakup and how one may be ready to move on, but sometimes the mind (or is it the heart) has a hard time letting go.  It's hard to think of the person you once loved so dearly with someone else.  Anyhow, the radio version has a lot faster beat (I couldn't find it on YouTube), but I also like the original version, which is the song that I've posted.  I really like this song's and for some reason it has an '80s feel to it.

Let me know what you think of this song. 

First Birthday Smash Cake

My Little One will be turning one-year old soon.  I can't believe it's been a year and I can't believe how fast he's grown.  Even though it wasn't yet his birthday, I still wanted to give him a "smash cake" party. 

So, I made him a funfetti cake and baked it in a little tin can.  It came out just perfect and I frosted it with a cream cheese buttercream frosting.  You can get the recipe for the cake and the frosting here  (I made up the frosting as I went along).  I decorated the cake simply with just sprinkles and candles.

The party was also simple too, just him, his father, and me.  We'll have a bigger party for him, but we wanted to celebrate his first birthday with just the two of us.  When the cake was put in front of him, ee was tentative at first, not sure if he could grab at the cake.  Then he just played with the frosting.  and when he licked the frosting, he continued to lick the frosting.  His dad had to instruct him to dig into the cake.  Once he figured out that there's more than just frosting, he really dug in and began eating.

It was a joy to see my Little One eating his cake.  We both took pictures and videos of him digging into his cake and truly enjoying himself.  I still can't believe how grown he's become.  Where did all the time go?  It's really gone by too fast.

Happy early birthday, my Little One!  I love you so much!

MN State Fair Skyride

(This is really what the Skyride looks like.)

[Minnesota State Fair.  Taken September 4, 2016]

Pooh Blanket

About a weekend or two ago, I found at a thrift store, a fabric that had two Winnie the Pooh panels. The fabric was in great shape, it wasn't dirty, and the fabric was cut appropriately so that it didn't interfere with each panel.  For $3.99, I thought I could turn each panel into a baby blanket.

So, I bought the fabric, washed it, and purchased some additional items to finish the quilt (e.g. batting, fabric).  Since I have an upcoming baby shower, I knew this would make a great gift for the the new mom-to-be.  I don't know the sex of the baby, but I decided to make the blanket gender neutral and match the Winnie the Pooh panel with a green/white polka dotted fabric.

This was a really easy blanket to make.   I just sandwiched batting in between the Winnie the Pooh panel and the green/white polka dotted fabric.  I thought I was going to tie down the blanket with strings, but decided to quilt it.  It was my first time quilting a blanket with a sewing machine, so some of my lines didn't come out quite straight, but if you don't look too closely, you wouldn't notice.  The blanket measures 35" x 40", which makes it a nice size for a baby or toddler.  The only thing I have left to do is bind the quilt and then I'm done.

I'm really excited and happy to get this project done.  If I do, it's going to be one of the few sewing projects that I actually finish.

What do you think about this blanket?

Fleece Baby Blanket

I was productive today.  Between Mr. Man and me watching my son, I was able to sew a simple baby blanket in an afternoon.  I was first inspired by this blog post when I was pregnant with my Little One.  For some unknown reason, I didn't get around to it.  

After giving birth, I accumulated fabrics for projects (e.g. baby blankets) that didn't happen.  Then this Christmas, my sister gave me a printed blue flannel fabric (as seen above and below).  I think it may have been used by one of her sons, and even though it may be gently used, it's still in great shape.  I've been wanting to finish up projects and since I had a nice soft brown fleece fabric, I decided to pair it up with the printed blue flannel fabric.

This was a very simple project and the only tedious part of sewing the blanket together was pinning the two fabrics together before sewing (there were pins all over the fabrics) and taking all the pins out after the sewing was done.  Since both fabrics were  may have been a bit "slippery," it was important to pin the fabrics together.  If one or both fabrics were 100% quilting cotton, it wouldn't have been necessary to pin the two fabrics together in so many places.  Now, that the project is done, it's just a matter of seeing someone getting to use this 

 I think the blanket turned out great!  What do you think?

Grapefruit Marmalade

I had just come back from visiting family in California and brought back some homegrown, "organic," grapefruits.  Maybe the grapefruits weren't fully ripe, but they were still delicious.  I wanted to bring back more, but Mr. Man said that I would be going over the weight limit for our checked in bag, so I had to give away a couple to my sister.

I've been wanting to make marmalade for a very long time, but didn't have immediate access to fresh organic fruit.  I didn't want to use store bought citrus because the citrus rinds are covered in wax and the rinds are an essential ingredient in making marmalade.  So, when I spied these grapefruit beauties on a tree branch, which was hanging over in my sister's yard, I told her to pick me some.

I did a lot of research and just came up with the recipe below.  I wanted a marmalade that was sweet, sour, and had some bitterness to it.  Of course, I didn't want a marmalade that was too bitter, but it had to have the bitterness because that's what's often associated with marmalade (at least, to me).  I hope you enjoy the following recipe:

Grapefruits

1 C of sugar per 1 pound of fruit (add more or less, depending on taste)

Juice of  a lemon for every three pounds of grapefruit (optional)

1. Take the peel off from the fruit.  Cut and scrape as much of the pith (the white parts) off the peel.

2. Blanch the peels by putting the peels into a pan and cover with water, and put the pan on the stove.

3. Bring the water to a boil and turn off the stove.  You can either let the peels sit in the water for 2-4 hours OR you can can drain the water and blanch the peels again, and after the second blanch, let the peels sit in the water for about 2-4 hours.  The more you blanch and let the peels sit in the water, the more bitterness you will remove from the peel.  (The downside is that you will also remove a lot of grapefruit's essential oils.)

4. Juice the grapefruit into a pan.  (You can just cut up the grapefruit into pieces and cook it all in the jam, but the membrane - the thin lining that encases each segment of the fruit - is also bitter).  Add the juice of the lemon, if using.  Add the sugar and let it sit on the stove until the peels are ready.

5. Drain the peels.  Slice the peels as thin as possible and as long as you want.  (My peels were about two inches long and half the size of a matchstick.)  You can use all the peels or some of it.  (I used about 4/5 of the peels).  Put the thinly sliced peels into the pan with the grapefruit juice/pieces.

6. Cook on medium heat and stir constantly until desired consistency.

7.  If you were going to water bath can the marmalade, then check out this website.

Enjoy!